


No Place for a Man

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (because i love the idea that Carla is black), Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Titans, Animal Death, Disabilities, Dragons, Elf Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Elves, Fluff and Angst, German Eren Yeager, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Herbology, Hunter Eren Yeager, Hunters & Hunting, Japanese Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Mixed Eren Yeager, Multi, Mythology References, Non-Graphic Violence, Non-Shifter Eren, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POC Eren Yeager, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sorcerers, They have dragons instead, Titan-Haired Eren Yeager, Witches, Wyverns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Levi is a cursed elf- doomed to wander from place to place or bad luck shall befall on the people.Eren is a human hunter who tags along as the two search for his sister and a cure for his mother's disease.(Alternatively named: I Like Mythology and Big Cloaks)THIS STORY HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE





	1. Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost, But I Certainly Am

**Author's Note:**

> Yello, this isn't my first fic for this fandom but the only one I'm actually invested in to write. I'm really excited to see where it goes (I don't even know yet). Future chapters will be a lot longer methinks.
> 
> This is basically a world full of ANY kind of mythology I love, be it Celtic, Norse, Greek or Chinese. I just love mythology.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Levi." A breathless, broken voice whispers. "Levi, why do you have to leave?" 

Levi, in his infinite mercy, does not give her the answer. Does not share his pain.

The small, redheaded girl watches him walk away down the dirt path leaving the village. Her green eyes are wet with tears. She summons spirit, and yells at Levi, who is far ahead by now. "LEVI!"

He stops and looks over his shoulder.

"PROMISE YOU'LL COME BACK!"

He waves. "One day!"

She smiles, and he turns his back to her. He has to go. 

So he does.

 

*

 

It's been 10 years since then.

 

A wyrm soars in the air overhead, gliding over and above the clouds like a sea snake dips into water. Levi squints to see it, shielding his eyes from the suns. The light of golden hour spills over his skin and the world around him in a caramel orange- glazing his sight in honey. He sweats from the heat of it, watching the wyrm finally disappear from his line of sight; fading into the background. Wyrms are majestic in the sky, yet quite terrifying to bump into on the ground. Levi doesn't cherish the memory of sneaking past a sleeping one, curled up on the porch of an abandoned temple- it's lips twitching at the crunching of dry grass and twigs, giving Levi a flash of white, sharp teeth. They are respected, but rightfully feared.

Levi takes his eyes from the sky and continues to trek on, adjusting the leather sack that hangs over his shoulder to reduce any strain. His boots, although made from worn-in leather, are starting to rub uncomfortably, and his calves ached from all the crouching, climbing and running. Taking this into account, he decides to find shelter for the night. With the sun setting beyond the horizon, nightfall will soon come, and with it, the creatures of the dark. With only a knife to defend himself, Levi can't risk it. One wolf is fine, but a pack would be a problem. 

 

A few hours later, he approaches the mouth of a cave. He stands unmoving with his body flat against the rock, listening for any movement inside before heading in. He is silent for 5 minutes, and there is nothing, so he dips into a slight crouch, moving stealthily into the belly of the beast. 

It is a large cave, large enough for a bear. Levi keeps this in mind as he surveys the area, creeping around corners into winding tunnels. Eventually, he deems it safe, and goes back out, checking for lurking predators. The night whistles, rustling his hair and sending shivers up his spine. He spots nothing, and moves some nearby stones and rocks by the mouth of the cave, making the entrance less visible with the help of some tree branches and leaves.

After heaving the final rock onto the pile, he slaps his hands together to shake off any mud or dust. It is under his nails and in the lines of his knuckles, but he can't do much about that for now; not unless he wants to waste precious water. He just hopes he'll come across a river of some sort and finally take a bath. 

Sitting down on the cave floor, he tugs off his boots and inspects the damage. He groans at the blister, already popped- showing the raw, meaty skin underneath. "Fuck."  He comments quietly, running his fingers over the wound. He'll have to put a bandage on that in the morning.

Levi takes off his belt, leaving the rest of his clothes on- pulling his fur cloak around him like a blanket and placing his bag beneath his head. He shivers in the darkness, on edge in unfamiliar territory. 

 

He doesn't sleep much that night.

 

*

 

He awakens to the sound of scraping stone, and bolts upright with sudden alarm- hand immediately on his knife even with his eyes still crusted with sleep. The weary traveller gets quietly and quickly to his feet, his cloak dragging on the dirt beneath him- tattered and torn from the everlasting journey.

There is a crash, and with rising anxiety, Levi peeks around the corner to where the mouth of the cave lies, hoping to catch a glimpse of the being trying to come in. He hopes to God it wasn't a wyvern.

Levi scrunches his eyes at the thought, shaking his head. Oh God, please don't let it be a wyvern.

He repeats this mantra in his head as the slowly peeks around the corner.

 

_Pleasegoddon'tletitbeawyvern Pleasegoddon'tletitbeawyvern Pleasegoddon'tletitbeawyvern Pleasegoddon'tletitbeawyv-_

 

Levi's eyes widen a fraction, and the grip on his knife tightens. 

 

Not a wyvern.

A human.

 

A human is not as dangerous as a wyvern, but Levi has seen what humans can do, so he doesn't underestimate this one.

The human tugs another rock to the ground, then steps through the gap, re-covering the hole with the branches Levi had collected the night before. He checks for predators outside, and slowly backs up away from the entrance. 

He backs up next to Levi, and Levi holds his knife to his throat.

The intruder freezes. The cold, worn blade presses into the skin of his neck- threatening to draw blood. He follows the blade to the handle, where he sees a hand and follows it to Levi- staring at him with hard, dark eyes. The human stares at the elf. It is silent. He does not reach for his own blade.

"I- I wasn't aware anyone was in here."

Levi doesn't reply. He presses the blade harder, even. "Who are you?" He demands.

The intruders face is darkened with dirt, and Levi recognises white tribal markings on his lips, nose and forehead. He wears thick, cotton trousers tucked into heavy duty leather boots. There are furs draped around his waist almost like a skirt, accompanied by a belt with herbs and gem stones dangling off. He wears no shirt- the only covering on his top being a tooth necklace, a fur shawl and a leather messenger bag. His chest, like his face, is also covered in white, tribal markings. The white stands out against his warm brown skin, accompanied with long, brown hair that flows about breast level- tied and braided in certain places. His eyes don't match him at all. If his gems were polished, they'd look exactly like his eyes- a rich, vibrant green sprinkled with gold flakes. It reminds Levi of the jade dragons that his mother owns.

 

His chest heaves with nerves as he speaks. "I'm- I'm a traveller; son of Jäger. My name is Eren."

 

Jäger. Levi translates it with his vague knowledge of the German language. 'Hunter'; his family must all be hunters, then. It explains the attire, and the overuse of pelt.

 

"I'm looking for shelter. I saw this cave and I thought it was empty." His fingers twitch. 

 

Levi is silent. He watches the hunter as he almost squirms with the effort to remain totally still. 

"Kick your knife over here." Levi finally says. 

Eren picks the knife from his belt and drops it to the stone floor, kicking it with the toe of his boot. It scrapes across the floor until it hits Levi's boot.

He bends down and grabs the other man's weapon, tucking it into his own belt. "This stays on me." He says firmly. "You can take shelter here."

Eren slowly relaxes as Levi takes the knife from his throat, moving to sit on the ground near Levi's makeshift bed. Levi sits on a lone rock, inspecting Eren's knife. The knife has a steel blade, free of scratches and dullness and gleams in the light that filters hrough the cracks in the cave. The handle is curved to fit comfortably in the palm of a grown man's hand, bigger than Levi's. The wood is sanded and smooth, apart from an engraving down the side. Levi's German isn't fantastic, but the message is simple: "Be great." It is signed with initials (Levi assumes)- AA. It isn't too special of a knife, but it is efficient, sharp and comfortable. Levi turns it in his hand, running worn, hard fingers over the bumps and grooves.

"Nice, yeah? It was a gift."

Levi looks up at the human sat cross legged by his pack. "My family gave it to me before I left."

"And why did you leave?"

"My mother..." Eren begins. He clutches the key necklace that hangs around his neck tightly. "My mother is sick. She's weak, and can't eat anymore. Father sent me and my sister to collect ingredients for a cure- he said it would fix the whole town. We got separated when a group of Stymphalian birds attacked us."

Levi hisses sympathetically as Eren shifts his shawl and unwraps a bloody bandage to show him a knife-like wound in his bicep. Stymphalian birds are nasty buggers. Levi, a renowned hero in many places, could have trouble with those.

"We didn't attempt to hunt them, we were just going past. Probably why our injuries were so minor compared to that of others that have fought them intentionally."

Levi remembers a man called Nile. He sent his whole pack out to hunt these birds for a bounty. None came back alive.

"Now... I'm alone. Mikasa is strong, but I didn't see if she was injured or not. We just ran opposite directions. I've been going this way for days. I searched all over for her, but I didn't find her."

His expression reminds Levi of a certain redheaded girl, and he knows he must help. It will have to be fairly quick, though. It usually takes the curse 4 weeks to go into affect, and who knows how long it'll be before they find his sister. If they find her at all. It sounds like they could have killed her. He says this.

"They could have killed her. Maybe you should just continue on your path to find your medicine."

"She's not dead! And maybe, if I could. She can take care of herself."

He admits. "But I don't know where I am. I have my map but I don't recognise anything."

Levi sighs, dropping himself down from his rock perch.

"I know where we are. I can help."

"Really?"

"Yes. Are there any predators outside?"

Eren racks his brain. "There was a dog out there earlier, but I think it's gone."

"Go see."

 

Eren approaches the entrance, shifting the foliage. Levi begins to redress. He squints against the blinding sun, hand poised over his belt even though he doesn't have his knife.

"The dog isn't within sight anymore, but it can't have gone far."

 

Levi grabs his pack from the floor, slinging it over his shoulder. He thows Eren's at him, who catches it with little effort but with much confusion.

"Then we leave now. No time to waste."

He hands Eren his knife handle first, and he takes it gingerly. 

 

"Let's find your sister."


	2. Wanna' Know How I Got These Scars?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi reveals how he lost his sight in one eye, and the boys run into a little bit of trouble.
> 
> TW: Animal death and gore, also weaponry and shit like that

  
"We should head on to Krolva. That's the closest town to where you were attacked. Your sister may have gone there, or someone may have found her and took her there."  
"How long will that take us? To get to Krolva?"  
Eren takes off his shawl. The day is getting warmer as it goes along. They walk side by side- bottles of herbs and gems jangling as they go. A jackalope sprints across the earth, twitching it's nose in the air before darting back into it's burrow as Eren and Levi stride past.  
Levi counts on his fingers as Eren watches with anticipation.  
"If we walk for 12 hours a day, it'll take us about 10 days to reach it. It'll more likely be 8, though."  
"How long will that take?"  
"About 15 days."  
Eren shoves his hands in his pockets, sighing and throwing his head back.  
Levi raises an eyebrow. "Am I really that bad?"  
"No, no, no." Eren back peddles. "No, I'm grateful for you showing me the way. I just hope..." He looks at his feet. "I just hope we get there in time."  
Levi lays a comforting hand on Eren's shoulder, fixing him with a stern look. "We will." He says, even though he doesn't know that.  
Nevertheless, Eren smiles gratefully and Levi removes his hand from his shoulder. Eren looks back ahead, and Levi shares a look with himself and the earth that Eren cannot see. The look is a grim frown. He hopes they find her, but...

He isn't so sure they will.

*

They walk for five hours before Levi hears Eren's stomach growl. It's golden hour, and Eren shushes his stomach.  
"Do you want to eat?" Asks Levi. "We can set up camp."  
"No, no." Eren says, shaking his head. "No, it's important we get to Krolva as fast as possible."  
"It's also important that we don't die along the way." Levi points out. He grabs Eren's arm and drags him to the left. "Come on, I saw a river over there. We can catch some fish."

Eren is tasked with fishing as Levi starts the fire. He holds a rod made of a branch and a chord with a worm on the end. It's incredibly dull, and he feels no tugs and can see nothing in the water, so he watches Levi.  
He is crouched by a bundle of sticks and bright green leaves. "For smoking the fish." He had said. There's a circle of rocks to control the fire, but Eren doesn't see how he's going to start it.  
He leans forward to watch as Levi rubs his fingers together, then touches the uppermost branch with his middle and forefinger.  
Both of them jump back when the whole pile erupts into flames, and Levi even goes back a couple of inches. He settles back down as the fire does, though, and sits on his heels.  
Eren watches in absolute amazement. He's never seen a real sorcerer up close, and he's so immersed he barely even notices the slight tug of the fishing rod. When he does, however, he hurls it up with so much force that he covers himself with water.  
"Levi!" he yells. "I caught one!"

"Good." Levi replies, a lot less excitedly. "One more to go."

Eren deals with that fish, digs for another worm, and then settles back down into his position again.  
Levi is warming his hands over the fire. Eren notices they're considerably more slender than his own, with black pointed nails and rings. The rings catch the light in the fire, and it seems like there's almost another world captured inside.  
Levi watches the setting sun with his good eye. Eren wonders how he damaged the other one. It's still intact, but a long claw mark runs through it down to his cheek bone.  
Was it a Griffin? A Drake?

He eventually catches another fish, and when he settles down on a log next to the fire and Levi cooks the fish, he asks him.  
"What did that to your eye?" He gestures with his knife, still in the middle of sharpening it.  
After a minute of staring blankly into the fire, Levi speaks. "A Lindwurm. I was requested to slaughter one by King Pixis of the southern territory." He gestures south. "He's an old friend, so I agreed to help him."  
"You're friends with a king?"  
"Mhm."  
"Cool. Carry on."  
Levi continues. "It was eating their dead- digging up the graves in Trost. A lot of people believe a Lindwurm to be good luck, but... when you looked at those people, watching her dig up their loved ones, you can tell she brought no luck to them."  
Eren swallows grimly. There was an invasion on Trost by a Colossal dragon a few years ago. The casualties were insurmountable- they had nowhere to bury the bodies anymore, so they had to burn them. Many just rotted in the streets. A plague swept across Trost that very year from all the corpses.

Eren swallows. Bad luck indeed.

"I wasn't planning on killing her. Of course not, she's just a creature of nature- not at fault for feeding to live. But when I entered her den, she was curled around a litter."

Eren's shoulders tense up.

"She attacked me on sight. So I had to fight. She got a few swings at me- I've got more scars from that fight than the ones on my face. I eventually overpowered her, and I brought her head to the village, hanging in a net on my horse. I went back to chase those babies out of town, and they ran from me. Motherless."

He clenches his fist. His face is haunting in the firelight.

"I deserve these scars."

All is silent bar the crackling of the fire. "You know," Eren says. "You would have got quadrupole the bounty if you'd had killed those children. But you didn't."

Levi looks up at Eren. His expression is soft. "You did all you could to save every life in that situation. That's admirable."

Eren goes back to sharpening his knife, and Levi goes back to cooking the fish. There is no wind, and the sun has set in the sky. All around them is a harmony of insects, and the river rushes quietly nearby.

"Thank you." Levi says.

Eren smiles under the firelight.

*

Morning comes. The fire is all but hot ash, and Eren has twisted himself into an odd shape in his sleep- one foot uncomfortably close to the ashes. Levi gingerly moves the foot by Eren's trouser leg, who jumps up and kicks out his leg at the feeling. He is startled awake by his foot landing in the ash, and pulls it back lightning-fast with a horrific yelp.

Levi watches him hop on one foot, nursing the other while swearing at the top of his lungs. Levi is reclined back against a log with a book in his hands. Noticing the book, Eren stops swearing and hops a little less frequently. "What's that?" He asks.  
Levi looks back down at the forgotten book in his palms. "It's a book my mother made. It's on witchcraft."

Eren sat down next to Levi, foot still in his hands. "Is your mum a witch?"  
"Yes. A fantastic one too."

Eren looks over at the book, where a page on herbal medicine is open. "What's that for?"  
"Your wound. I think it's infected."  
"My wound?" He looks at his arm, and suddenly remembers. His heart drops into his gut. "Oh. We should get moving soon."

Levi nods, closing the book and putting it into his pack. He picks the pack up. "Yeah. We'll catch breakfast along the way."  
As Eren picks up his messenger bag, Levi plucks a blue flower from the ground next to him and places it inside his belt. In a few seconds, they're on the move again.

*

Breakfast is raspberries and jackalope. Levi made them seem easy to kill. Even as an experienced hunter, Eren often finds himself without a meal. Levi however, shot the animal dead in the eye with a bow and arrow. As Levi was skinning the jackalope, Eren had quizzed him on his abilities. "How do you shoot that accurately?" He'd asked.  
"Practise." Levi had answered.  
Eren has been practising hunting for nearly all of his life, and couldn't get near that amount of precision. (He knew a girl who could though). When he'd pointed this out, Levi had just said "Practise more." and Eren decided to leave it at that.

They walk along a trail. Levi mentions this trail will lead them through a small village of hunters and gatherers, and it clicks in Eren's mind that this is where his father had grown up. He tells Levi.

"Do you want to go look around, then?" Levi asks.  
"No- I... the quicker we pass through, the better."  
"Okay. I'm going to buy some supplies, though. We'll need them. I told you before: in order to find your sister and save your mother, we need to survive ourselves. Not stocking up would be suicide." He chides.  
Eren remains quiet, and they see the town beyond the horizon.  
"When you fled," Levi begins. "Did you run straight?"  
"No. I encountered a lot more obstacles on my way, so I had to change course a lot. If I'd have gone straight, I wouldn't be lost."  
"Well, you're not lost now." Levi says, reaching up to collect a handful of leaves from a tree. As he talks, he ties them in a bunch with twine. "No wonder your family sent your sister too- you have no idea what you're doing."  
"What?"  
"Well, we've walked past a lot of the ingredients needed for your mother's medication and you haven't picked up one."  
Levi thrusts the leaves in Eren's face, and he recognises them as kratom. "Earlier, I picked up a blue lotus too. Do you have any intention of saving your mother?"  
Eren bursts. "I do!"  
"Then why do you keep half-assing your fucking job? You're half-assing saving Mikasa and you're half-assing saving your mother. Stop it. If they die then it's all going to be on you- don't let that happen."

Silence falls upon them again. Eren clears his throat.  
"Sorry. Thank you for collecting the ingredients."  
"It's okay. This village grows a lot of Rose-hips. That'll be good for your mother."  
"Thank you. I'll collect them."

They are getting closer to the town, when Levi stops. "Woad." He says.  
"What?"  
"Woad. For your wound."  
He rushes over to the plant and picks it, tucking it into his belt alongside the blue lotus. "You'll need this to heal!" He calls, but Eren isn't listening.

He's watching a wyvern land a little further away, cocking its head and fluttering it's wings.

It spots Eren.

"Levi!"  
Levi looks up at Eren, who stares at the distance in terror.

The wyvern sprints.

"LEVI, RUN!"

Levi turns on his heels so fast it would rival a cheetah, and sprints towns-ways, passing Eren and grabbing his sleeve. He tugs Eren along, and soon they're thundering down the dirt road as the wyvern chases and shrieks at them.

"WE'RE LEADING IT TOWARDS TOWN!" Eren yells over his own blood thumping in his temple.  
"I KNOW. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT IT."

The wyvern shrieks again, and it is so close. It tramples flowers and creates dust clouds- all the while it's teeth are bared and it's tongue lolls out of its mouth.

"THAT'S CRAZY, WE HAVE TO LOSE IT!" Eren's hair whips in the wind.  
"THAT'S CRAZY TOO! WE HAVE TO FIGHT IT!"

Levi does a 180 and heads towards the monster. He takes his bow from around his body and sheathes an arrow- aiming.

Eren is still running- he screams for Levi to stop.

Levi cannot hear the thundering footsteps anymore. He cannot see the wyvern, nor can he hear the startled shrieks of Eren.

All he can see is a big,

red,

 _target_.

The arrow flies through the air with a clear crack like a whip. The string of the bow bounces frm the force, and Levi skids in the dirt path. He comes to a halt, and looks at the wyvern that lies dead on the ground- staining the road crimson.

Levi's chest heaves as he gets on his knees beside the carcass. He holds the knife above his head, and whispers something that Eren can't hear. Then he begins to carve the carcass, cutting out sections of meat and removing any innards. Eren jogs over.

"WOW! Just, wow! That was fantastic, Levi!" He appears breathless. "You took it out with one arrow!" Eren crouches by the dragons head, taking a look inside its mouth. "Judging from it's teeth and size, this one is at least 8! He's a big one."  
"I killed another being." Levi says mournfully, up to his forearms in blood.  
"Well," Eren pats the nose of the wyvern. "It was going to attack that village, and us. War is won through sacrifice, after all."  
"Right." Levi says, straightening up. "You're right."

"If we bring the head to the village they'll pay a lot for it." Eren says. "I can run to the village, it isn't so far now. I can pay some guys in meat to help us bring the wyvern there."  
"Okay." Says Levi. "I'll keep guard." Eren leaves, and Levi strokes the nose of the dead dragon. It's skin is tough and scaly under Levi's palm.  
"Rest now." He says.

*

Eren comes back with men on horses pulling a wagon, and they help him roll the 3 tonne beast onto the back of the wagon. When Levi can't see the hole in it's belly from when he cut in, it almost looks like it's sleeping.

He rewards the men with chunks of meat, which they wrap in cloth gratefully. One chunk will be enough to feed a family for 3 days, and Levi is satisfied how they thank him- assuring him that their children will be well fed.

Levi sits in the wagon besides the wyvern, watching it's wings jolt with the movement of the cart as they are led into town. Children come and point at the large carcass, and Levi simply strokes the scaly skin. Eren and Levi take as much meat as they can carry, and for their services, the mayor gifts them two horses and a wagon to carry their belongings with them on their journey. They thank the mayor, and Levi assures Eren that with the horses, the journey to Krolva will take half the time. They set off shortly after that, and Eren jangles with his new necklace of wyvern teeth. Everytime Levi looks at them, all he can feel is pain. The creature didn't have to die, but thinking about those poor children now with full stomachs, Levi felt that maybe it did.

  
Eren's fists are tight on the reins, and he surges forward with a sense of intense urgency.

_Hold on, Mikasa. I'm coming for you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got an interesting chapter up next

**Author's Note:**

> And off they go!
> 
> As a note, Levi was 15 at the time he left his home town. Isabel was 8. Currently, Eren is only 19.


End file.
